Seed and Bread: A Fall Poem by Scott Eagan

For those of you who are new to the blog, Scott Eagan is a farmer and poet who is a member of the Madonna House community in Combermere, Ontario. Scott sees God at work in the seasons, the animals, the harvest, and in the people of his life. I'm ever-grateful that he shares his work with us.

SEED and BREAD

Summer has come and gone
seamless seasons pass by, pass through
and we are still here, we remain
the planted seed pushing its roots deeper.

Spring sun and June showers
softened seed and warming soil
these have fed our souls, our wintry souls
we have scattered seed, and toiled and hoped.

July's hot blaze, long days and hay
our green meadows and pastures and fields
a sea of waving grasses are living proof of creation's
design, the order and harmony of Life.

Weeds have thrived there too, we have grown together
the Hand of Love will sort it out
sandy soils dry and some plants wither
waving grain, now a golden sea, August's passing.

Harvest promises a full granary
days shorten, the grain is plump
all creatures come to the fields to taste and fatten
and will we be harvest, Christ's seed and bread?

Roots and seed -- sun, rain and soil
stem, leaf and grain -- life is holy toil.
Green to gold, grain ground into flour
dough become bread; God, woman and man power.
 

© 2017 Scott Eagan

Van Gogh, Wheat Fields with Sheaves, 1888.

Will They Know We Are Christians

When I was a child, my family attended a Presbyterian church for several years. This was the place where I received my first Bible (a Good News Bible that I still cherish), and my teacher, Hessie Smith, wrote me a note and told me to put it in my Bible at Matthew 6:33 (it’s still there). Her lesson on John the Baptist was so descriptive that for a week I couldn’t stop thinking about how disgusting it must be to eat locusts with wild honey.

At the end of every Sunday service, we would hold hands with the people seated to our left and to our right, until every person in the church was connected. Then we would sing They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love:

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.

Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

I heard this message over and over again, Sunday after Sunday, my hand grasped by my mom or dad, or sometimes by a stranger, maybe even by one of my brothers on a rare occasion! Even as a child I knew the message rang with idealism but called us to something real. And I wondered how we were doing, and if we were failing. Because it was so obvious – you didn’t have to read every word of that Good News Bible to know it – you didn’t have to be a grown-up to know it – it was so obvious that the song should be true. But was it?

Jesus said, “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). It’s so easy to say or to sing. Much harder to do.

The Church is holy – we profess this – but it is not because she is perfect. It is because she is set apart. Set apart to do one task, to do it better than anyone else because she has had the perfect example. She is one with the Perfect Example.

The Church was created to love. This is the one thing that lies beneath, behind and beyond every aspect of her existence, from liturgy to evangelization. If it doesn’t, then we have failed before we have even begun.

Pope Francis said, "I desire a happy church with the face of a mother, who understands, accompanies, caresses. Dream of this church, believe in it, innovate it with freedom."

I see this church, and yet I dream of it. I have seen that loving face, and yet I yearn for it. I have been accompanied, and yet I dream of accompaniment. Let us innovate – transform – with love, and not fail each other. Let us innovate with every step, breath, word and song. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Every year on October 21, at Mount Sacred Heart in Hamden, CT (the home of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus), sunlight shining through the stained glass in the chapel illuminates the heart of Jesus, turning it red. Sisters, students, and friends of the community gather to witness this natural sign of God's supernatural love. The motto of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Pauline declaration: "The love of Christ impels us" (2 Cor. 5:14).

Jesse Manibusan in Milford, CT!

Wonderful news for Connecticut people! Jesse Manibusan (composer of "Open My Eyes") will be joining the choir at my home parish in Milford, CT for two concerts at the end of October. Jesse is well-known in the world of Catholic liturgical music and has a natural rapport with audiences. Bonus: he connects with young people. My five-year-old loves the St. Ann choir as much as I do, so we're planning to grab a seat on the front row! Hope to see you there! 

See details on the poster below about dates, times, location and tickets ($12 advance; $15 at door).

And here's a nice video of Jesse talking about his new song "Hold Onto Love," which he will sing with the choir at the upcoming concerts.

God & Storms: Does God protect us?

This blog post was originally published in October 2014. It seemed appropriate to repost it in the midst of this historic hurricane season, as we continue to pray for all those facing storms.

How would you answer the question, "Does God protect us?"

* * * * *

Do you ever pray about the weather?  “Pray for good weather this Sunday for the church picnic.”  While there’s certainly nothing wrong with praying for this sort of thing, it may create legitimate questions in our minds:  If God would arrange good weather for our church picnic, why wouldn’t he arrange for hurricanes to avoid heavily populated areas, or for monsoons to stop before they become devastating floods, or for rain to fall on drought-stricken farms? Why not redirect a polar vortex or subdue a tsunami?

Can God control the weather?  Of course.  But does he?

In this way, earth’s storms are not unlike the storms of life.  We can and we should pray about the difficulties and devastations we face.  We must always communicate with, and lean on and believe in, our loving and powerful God.  But we are well aware that he does not always intervene when it comes to “bad weather.”  Could God control every aspect of our lives, create a wall around us, protecting us from every bad thing?  Perhaps.  But does he?  He most certainly does not.

Perhaps it comes down to a question of how God protects us.  There are times in life when we feel miraculously protected – walking away from a car accident, being thrown from a horse and standing up good as new.  But for the most part, we get tossed around by life with scars to show for it – there are injuries, illnesses, heartbreaks, sleeplessness, stress and death – for all of God’s children.  The rain falls on everyone, and some even seem to get more than their fair share.  God does not always shield us from these things.  And yet he remains our powerful protector.  He protects not with a power that interferes with each event, but a power that gathers us in, and pulls us near, and makes and keeps promises about being with us.  It is a power that may strike us as a bit too subtle at times, and yet as time passes, we recognize how awesome, and how essential, and how real it actually is.

As a parent, I do not want my children to suffer, and I am naturally tempted to smooth their paths in whatever way I can.  But even more than I may want an easy life for them, I want a great life for them.  I want them to be great.  And the fact is that great people have suffered. They have experienced the storms of life without always bailing out into the nearest shelter. They have learned the most important things by being brought down low.  Storms transformed them and made them strong, wise, clearheaded and serene.  Wounded?  Yes, that too.  But we can be wounded and still be great.  It is much harder to be utterly unscathed and be anything more than mediocre.

God allows bad weather – really bad weather – and he allows life’s storms.  Sometimes the storms are so bad that our wounds don’t heal.  For those times we may simply have to surrender:  “Lord, I know you may not change this storm, but you are always willing to change me.  So if you must, make me great!”

Gospel Commentary in Catechist Magazine...and other stuff you might like

If you are looking for brief, informative commentary on the Sunday Gospels, you might consider subscribing to Catechist magazine! My role at Catechist is to write commentary and reflection for every Sunday Gospel (September through May). The commentary helps catechists better understand and share the weekly Gospel with their students, but it can also be used by individuals or faith-sharing groups as a resource for reflecting on the Sunday Gospels together. If you would like to see an example, you can view September’s “The Sunday Gospel” feature from Catechist magazine by clicking here. It's a great time to become a new subscriber -- this year Catechist is celebrating 50 years of helping catechists and catechetical leaders in their ministry, and they've made some exciting changes to their magazine and website. Click here to visit Catechist magazine's new website!

And since I don’t “advertise” too often...

...just a reminder that my books That Mighty Heart and In Every Life are available on amazon.com, and my new book Lent: Season of Transformation, part of a new series by Little Rock Scripture Study, is available for pre-order on amazon.com (release date is October 15, 2017).

And while I’m at it, here are a few recently published books that I highly recommend...

The Spirituality of Saint Paul: A Call to Imitation by Frank Matera, Paulist Press. Fr. Matera’s latest book is a readable and very helpful book on St. Paul's spirituality. It will help you wrap your mind around some major themes in Paul's letters and then reflect on how they apply to your life. Fr. Matera writes of seeking a Pauline spirituality in his own life. This book is no doubt the fruit of both his outstanding scholarship and his lived experience.

At Play in the Lion’s Den: A Biography and Memoir of Daniel Berrigan by Jim Forest, Orbis Books. Jim Forest, biographer extraordinaire, has given us the story of the inimitable Fr. Dan Berrigan, a Jesuit priest and activist of the 20th century. Jim has done his research but also has the priceless advantage of having been a friend of Dan’s and a fellow peacemaker through the years. The cover of this book alone tells a story, along with quotes such as this one from Dan Berrigan: “If you want to follow Jesus, you had better look good on wood.”

Written for Our Instruction: Theological and Spiritual Riches in Romans by Thomas Stegman, S.J., Paulist Press. Fr. Tom Stegman, Dean of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, is a proven scholar whose head is not "in the clouds." That’s why I like him and his work. I look forward to reading this book about St. Paul’s monumental letter to the Romans. It’s guaranteed to be 128 pages of solid commentary and insight.

Click on the titles below for more information!